South Fayette girls runner-up at Baldwin Invitational
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Emma Fleck is a normal part of South Fayette’s 4x800 relay but she competed in the 800-meter race at the Baldwin Invitational.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
South Fayette’s Olivia Renk is one of the top sprinters in the WPIAL.
The South Fayette girls track team, competing with a limited amount of entrants, weathered the elements to finish as runner-up at the Baldwin Invitational.
“I was a little surprised by our team standing because we didn’t run a full line-up as we normally do. We had a few girls missing,” said SF coach Scott Litwinovich. “I also thought the girls had a great day considering the conditions.”
The Lions did not run the 4×400 relay. They also gave Emma Fleck and Baylee Carpenter a break from the 4×800 relay to allow them the opportunity to run their open 800-meter races “fresh, Litwinovich said.
Fleck finished eighth in that individual event.
Litwinovich was particularly pleased with Melana Schumaker, Grace Howard and Erica King.
Schumaker won the pole vault with a personal record of 11 feet, 10 inches to beat Waynesburg’s Taylor Shriver by six inches. Mt. Lebanon’s Kathryn Hart finished in third place and Bethel Park’s Megan Malecki followed in fifth.
Howard earned silver and bronze medals in the high jump and long jump, respectively.
King secured sixth place in the javelin throw of 105 feet, 7 inches.
“It was great to see Melana PR in such tough conditions,” Litwinovich said. “Grace was competing in a major event for the first time this year and also did well. Erica has been a huge surprise for us and for her to place sixth as a sophomore in the javelin is really promising for her. I have been really proud of her for taking on the challenge of becoming a thrower for us and excelling at it.”
Amy Allen excelled in her tune-up for the WPIAL championships to be held May 19 at Slippery Rock University. She won the 400-meter dash in 57.29 and came right back to anchor the 4×100 relay team of Dea Monz, Schumaker and Olivia Renk to victory in 49.45.
Allen followed up those first-place finishes with a silver-medal showing in the 300 hurdles.
“Our plan was to see how Amy could handle those back-to-back events,” Litwinovich said. “We know that she can be a top one or two in the 400 and 300 hurdles so we want her to get a fee of how that might affect her.
“She is obviously a key to our 4×100 team. She’s committed to running that in the postseason. She has a great problem that she has to figure out. We will make our recommendations, but ultimately it is her decision.”
Several South Fayette boys also earned medals at the Baldwin Invitational.
Hayden Litwinovich took third in the 100 hurdles with a 15.32 mark, .24 off the winning pace set by West Mifflin’s Dontae Lewis. Litwinovich also placed fifth in the pole vault.
Jake Borgesi finished fifth and Roman Galioto followed in sixth place in the McKinney Mile.
SF’s 4×400 relay team of Joe Audia, Borgesi, Galioto and Joe Henry earned an eighth-place medal.
Other top individual medalists at the Baldwin Invitational included:
- Jenna Lang of Bethel Park finished the McKinney Mile in third place, while Mt. Lebanon’s Caroline Adams and Logan St. John Kletter took fourth and sixth, respectively; St. John Letter finished in third, Adams in fourth and Lang in fifth in the 3,200-meter run.
- Nate Kirk of Mt. Lebanon, fourth and sixth in the 100 and 200 dashes.
- Cole Jooste from Upper St. Clair, sixth, 1,600 race.
- Michael Conroy from Bethel Park, fifth, 300 hurdles.
- Max Lewis from Chartiers Valley and Aaron Brula of Peters Township, fifth and sixth in the high jump.
- Isaac Nirella of Bethel Park, fourth, pole vault.
- Anthony Schullek of Peters Township, eighth, triple jump.
- Patrick Marsh from CV and Scott Orzechowski from Bethel Park, third and sixth in the javelin.